Tyne Valley-Linkletter MLA Paula Biggar, from left, and Roy Newcombe, secretary of the Northam Community Centre Committee look on as members of the Tyne Valley Rural Community Fire Company, Kyle Hardy, center, and Ernest Newcombe, explain the workings of fire fighters’ breathing apparatus to Ron MacKinley, Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development. MacKinley presented Island Community Fund contributions of $23,750 to the fire company and $12,068 to the community centre during a visit Monday to the Tyne Valley Fire Hall.
Ron MacKinley, Minister of Fisheries Aquaculture and Rural Development, presented cheques to two organizations during a visit Monday to the Tyne Valley Fire Hall. In addition to the Community Centre, he had a cheque for $23,750 for the Tyne Valley Rural Community Fire Company to cover one-half of the purchase price of 10 sets of fire fighting bunker gear and three sets of breathing apparatus.
The new fire fighting gear is the start of the department’s 10-year replacement plan. It already has 16 sets of gear purchased in the 1990s. The last time it purchased BAs was in 2005, equipment manager Ernest Newcombe reported.
Renovations at the Northam Community Centre included insulation in the attic and basement, interior painting, new lighting, new water tank and new cabinets and shelving. The committee also got a new mural showcasing the center and their community, which will be erected out front, come spring.
The centre was built in 1948 and operated as a school. The Northam Women’s Institute operated it from 1972 until it was transferred to the Community Centre Committee in 1996.
Committee secretary, Roy Newcombe, said the hall gets used regularly for wedding and baby showers, anniversaries, receptions following funerals and other community events.
A nine-member committee oversees the operation of the hall.
